Over the past ten or so years there has been an increased interest in the use of biometric measurements as a legal seal for authenticating legal documents. For example a U.S. Patent Application Publication of Taslitz No. 2003/0182151 discloses a Method of Using Biometric Measurements as a Legal Seal for Authenticating Real Estate Deeds and Mortgages. As disclosed a method for providing an electronic seal to a real estate deed, mortgage or land trust document using a biometric measurement of the original signer to the document, which biometric measurement is stored in a central computer for access at a future date when such document is presented for transaction. The software of the system of the invention generates an authorization code or number representative of the stored unique biometric measurement, which code is then physically placed on or inserted into the document evidencing the biometric seal of the user. The correlating code is unique to the document and the stored biometric seal therefore. The unique biometric measurement is “married” to the legal document to provide a “legal seal” and obviate the use of mechanical, waxed, embossed or printed seals. This biometric seal provides the guarantee to the financial institution or other party in the legal transaction that the person who has signed the document and provided a biometric measurement is indeed the actual person that he or she claims to be.
A more recent disclosure of Norris, Jr. et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 7,110,576 discloses a System and Method for Authenticating A Mailpiece Sender. The patent discloses a method and system for authenticating the sender of a mailpiece for identifying certain mailpieces as originating from known trusted senders. In one configuration, biometric information and/or biometric metadata is captured when a user writes on a mailpiece with a digital pen. This data is then compared to reference data in a database. Registrant data is then loaded into a storage device on the mailpiece and may be digitally signed and/or encrypted by a trusted third party. In another configuration, a mailpiece includes the signature of a sender and the biometric data includes authentication data obtained from the signature that is compared to the biometric data related to the signature obtained during a sender registration process.
Further a U.S. Pat. No. 7,483,552 of Pomerantz et al. discloses a method for preventing signature repudiation. The method sees a user's fingerprint and embeds special markings on the document being signed. This method then transmits the information regarding the signing of the document, such as images of the document, fingerprints, times and locations of the signing to a third party receiver.
In addition, a pocket identification collection kit U.S. Pat. No. 7,831,066 discloses a kit that is compact for fitting in a pocket and has means for rapidly collecting and recording identification information of personnel in their field and processing collected information in a computer processing station. The kit provides means for linking collected and recorded biometric data of individuals through the use of a photographic image and a unique identifier. Complete biometric data, photographic data and biographical information are processed into internationally accepted and law enforcement standards are later used. A method that allows personnel to rapidly collect, record and link types of identification information and later process collected in a secured location.
Such interests extend well beyond the United States as evidenced by a Korean Patent Application No. KR20070064887 and two Chinese Patent Applications CN101329776 and CN101417561. The Korean application of Quibin Zhong (CN)+ discloses an electronic seal system using fingerprint recognition is provided to prevent illegal use of a missing seal by providing the electronic seal data to a user identified through the fingerprint recognition and facilitate tracing/management of use records by storing the use records. A storing part stores personal and level information of an identified registrant, fingerprint data used for authenticating the user, and electronic seal data of a company including the registrant. A fingerprint recognizer generates the fingerprint data by detecting a fingerprint of the user. A determiner outputs the electronic seal data if the fingerprint data received from the fingerprint recognizer is identical with the fingerprint data read from the storing part and the level information of the authenticated user is over a predetermined level a printing part prints a sealed image corresponding to the electronic seal data on a signature column of a document through an inkjet mode.
The first Chinese application of Jie Yang (CN) and Chenglin Qui discloses a fingerprint seal system and a method. The system comprises a fingerprint module for collecting fingerprint images, a processor for carrying out a comparison between different fingerprints and managing the information of the seal, an electronic latch for receiving results of the comparison between different fingerprints and starting up the rotation of a gear shifting stepping motor, a mechanical transmission device and a seal installed on the mechanical transmission device. When a user needs to use the seal for sealing, the user can start up the fingerprint seal system, a fingerprint is pressed on a fingerprint sensor to collect the fingerprint image when the user having the authority to open the seal is judged by a central processor in the fingerprint module. If the user has the authority, the fingerprint module emits an opening signal to the motor of the transmission mechanism and the sealing is completed by a motor interlocking transmission mechanism and then the fingerprint module records managing information of using the seal such as user information, the sealing time and the accumulated sealing times etc.
The second Chinese application of Quibin Zhong discloses a fingerprint electric identification stamp. As disclosed, the electronic seal can be normally used only by fingerprint identification. The seal comprises a seal body and a sheath body. A fingerprint scanner is arranged in the cavity of a seal head and the seal body, a fingerprint identification circuit, an electric machine release mechanism and a battery are arranged wherein the scanner is connected with the fingerprint identification circuit, the output end of which is connected with the micromachine in the electric machine release mechanism and the micromachine is connected with a roof bar outside the micromachine by a transmission mechanism. The seal body is positioned outside the roof bar and cut with a groove; the sheath body is sheathed outside the seal body and adheres to the external periphery of the seal body and provides with a fixture block in the middle, the fixture block is provided with a spring and inserted in the groove of the seal body and leans against the roof bar outside the micromachine, the bottom surface of the seal body is higher than the bottom of the sheath body and an offsetting spring is arranged between the seal body and the sheath body. The electronic seal is characterized by a simple and novel structure and normal availability only by fingerprint scanning.
Notwithstanding the above, it is presently believed that there is a need and a potential commercial market for an improved electronic seal that uses fingerprint recognition to prevent use of an unauthorized person combined with means for remotely destroying a missing seal. The seal in accordance with the present invention includes a fingerprint module for collecting an image of a fingerprint of an authorized individual and a processor for carrying out a comparison of a second fingerprint with a stored image of an authorized individual's fingerprint. In addition, the seal in accordance with the present invention includes a plurality of remotely heatable wires for destroying a missing seal.